Did the end of Summerfest leave you frantically scratching at your arms, searching for your next hit of music-related entertainment? Well, then you probably have a serious problem, but luckily the Oriental Theatre seems more than eager to feed your horrible tune addiction with a combo of music-related features: the rock doc "20 Feet from Stardom" and the old-folks-that-rock tearjerker "Unfinished Song."

"20 Feet from Stardom" features perhaps the best soundtrack of the year, cycling through a star-studded track list of hits from the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson and more. Director Morgan Neville, however, could not care less about the rock stars hogging all the fame and fortune. Instead, he tilts the spotlight toward backup singers, the unheralded stars of some of rock’s greatest hits.

Neville gathers a remarkable amount of these mostly female behind-the-scenes heroes, finding out about the highs and lows of their much respected but mostly anonymous careers, as well as the remarkably ego-free mindset that goes into a life more about blending in than standing out.

Some – like Darlene Love, the Hall of Fame singer behind "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and Murtaugh’s wife in the "Lethal Weapon" movies – managed to claw their way to a taste of fame. It wasn’t without its share of setbacks, namely having her lead vocals on "He’s A Rebel" and "He’s Sure The Boy I Love" credited to The Crystals by Phil Spector.

Others haven’t been as lucky in making the small but, as put by Bruce Springsteen, "complicated" walk from the back of the stage to the front. The boomingly soulful Lisa Fischer has remained mostly a backup and session singer, despite having a Grammy-winning single under her belt. Fischer seems content with her path, as opposed to her colleague Judith Hill, who struggles with balancing backup singing with a solo career that’s frustratingly halted at the cusp of breaking out since her eye-opening performance at MJ’s funeral.

"It’s a springboard, but it can easily become quicksand," Hill notes. It’s a sentiment quietly echoed with a short silence from the usually peppy, constantly singing Waters family (Oren, Maxine and Julia).

In its ambition to pay tribute to so many careers and stories, and compact them into just 90 minutes, "20 Feet from Stardom" occasionally feels a bit scattered. It only touches briefly on bigger ideas – the sexualization of backup singers, the role of race and gender – and some of the personalities, no matter how big and bright, can unfortunately blend together.

However, this heartwarming, ear-pleasing companion piece to last year’s crowd-pleasing rock doc "Searching for Sugar Man" is never short on charming characters, stories or tunes. And any film that gives me ample opportunities to hear Merry Clayton’s searing vocals on "Gimme Shelter" simply has to be recommended.

If you’re only going to watch one movie featuring The Boss on screen … well, rent "High Fidelity." But if you’re going to watch two movies, rent "High Fidelity" and see "20 Feet from Stardom."

On the far opposite end of L.A. and the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle is the modest, pensioner-filled British import "Unfinished Song." Terence Stamp stars as Arthur, a cold grumpy retiree who loves his sweet, sickly wife (Vanessa Redgrave) almost as much as he hates the cheerful choral group – the OAP’Z, or Old Age Pensionerz – she participates in almost everyday.

She loves the life and energy of the group (forget the opera; these pensioners rock out to "Let’s Talk About Sex" and Gnarls Barkley), but Arthur’s concerned the goofy songs and practices are draining her of what little strength she still has left.

The fact that the cockles of Arthur’s heart eventually warm up to the group and their enthusiastic young director (Gemma Arterton) shouldn’t require much of a spoiler alert. Writer-director Paul Andrew Williams’ film is all sentimental heartwarming all the time.

From Laura Rossi’s twinkly score to the dialogue, filled with blunt life lessons and trite feel-goodisms, there’s something transparent about "Unfinished Song," like it’s trying a bit too hard for those tears. Williams pulls almost everything out of the cutesy tearjerker bag of tricks: charmingly randy old folks, a big climactic competition (which, through some forced contrivance, they’re almost kicked out of before it starts), Billy Joel’s "Lullaby," etc. It’s hard to really feel the true emotion amidst all the emotional manipulation.

Then again, I’d be lying if there isn’t also something kind of winning about the film, especially in the performances. Arthur is a standard-issue grump, but Stamp brings across some much needed shades of warmth and hurt that make him feel like a character rather than a cliché. Redgrave and Arterton are both disarmingly sweet, and a stubbly Christopher Eccleston holds his own with Stamp as Arthur’s hurt, estranged son.

And though unabashedly precious, those tearjerker elements in Williams’ bag of tricks wouldn’t be in there if they weren’t at least a little effective. If Williams can extend his deft touch for performances onto his storytelling, he could be onto something.

As it stands, "Unfinished Song" is like a pleasant if not particularly spectacular 4:00 show on a Summerfest side stage in terms of quality, while "20 Feet from Stardom" is a star-studded, satisfying 10:00 main stage show. And at worst, unlike Summerfest, they come with air conditioning.  

"20 Feet from Stardom": *** out of **** 

"Unfinished Song": **1/2 out of ****